The VASRD is governed by principles that dictate how the Rating Authorities should assigned Military Disability Ratings in various circumstances. These principles are meant to make up for any shortcomings or holes in the rating schedule and to create equality and fairness when applying the ratings. Some principles are specific to single conditions (these will be discussed on the individual condition pages), and some can be applied to all.

The principles in the VASRD were originally meant to govern only VA Disability cases, and so when the VASRD began being officially used for DoD Disability as well, the DoD had to make a few changes to the principles in order to apply them successfully in the DoD system. Everything below applies to both the DoD and the VA unless it is clearly stated.

Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes the body to sweat uncontrollably and unpredictably. Most commonly the hands, feet, groin, and underarms are affected; however, hyperhidrosis can also occur on the face and, rarely, the entire body.

The cause of hyperhidrosis is unknown but doctors believe that an over-reactive sympathetic nerve response is the primary cause. High emotion, smells, sounds, certain foods and drinks, caffeine, or nicotine can trigger episodes. Hyperhidrosis can also occur with other conditions like Parkinson’s disease,  congestive heart failure, and  diabetes.

The VA gives every veteran who applies for benefits a disability rating. This rating ranges from 0%-100% and indicates the occupational limitations that a soldier may have due to active military duty. The higher your VA rating, the more you may be able to receive in monthly compensation. The VA has listed spinal conditions under section 4.71 Schedule of ratings–musculeskeletal system.

For spinal conditions such as Lumbosacral or cervical strain, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, ankylosing spondylitis, spinal fusion, and vertebral fracture/dislocation, the VA will use the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine to determine a disability rating. When using this rating system, the VA will evaluate both the cervical spine and the thoracolumbar spine through a variety of tests. These tests will measure the veteran’s range of motion. The results will then be used to determine what their VA disability rating is. Under the general rating formula, an applicant will receive a rating of either 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or 100%.

Marijuana use for medical conditions is an issue of growing concern. Some Veterans use marijuana to relieve symptoms of PTSD and several states specifically approve the use of medical marijuana for PTSD. However, controlled studies have not been conducted to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of medical marijuana for PTSD. Thus, there is no evidence at this time that marijuana is an effective treatment for PTSD. In fact, research suggests that marijuana can be harmful to individuals with PTSD.

VA Reexaminations and Reductions of Veterans Disability Benefits.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may reduce or terminate your disability benefits under certain circumstances. Typically the VA will not do this unless you are first asked to appear for a reexamination.

A reexamination can be a medical examination or, if the VA feels it is necessary to evaluate the severity of your disability, a period of hospital observation. The VA is legally entitled to require an exam or hospitalization, so it is critical that you comply with a reexamination request in order to preserve your benefits.

Veterans Court is a collaborative process that includes the prosecutor, defense counsel, Judge, the Department of Veteran Affairs and other community based support organizations.  The goal of Veterans Court is to rehabilitate and restore veterans as active, contributing members of their community.

The Veterans Court program focuses on veterans who are currently in, or entering, the Criminal Justice System.  The Court creates and supervises treatment plans to address the underlying causes of the veterans behavior and substance abuse issues.  Issues commonly addressed by the treatment programs include:

State Veterans Homes are facilities that provide nursing home, domiciliary or adult day care. They are owned, operated and managed by state governments. They date back to the post Civil War era when many states created them to provide shelter to homeless and disabled Veterans.

To participate in the State Veterans Home program, VA must formally recognize and certify a facility as a State Veterans Home. VA then surveys all facilities each year to make sure they continue to meet VA standards.

VA does not manage State Veterans Homes.

What are the Major Differences between DoD and VA Disability Benefits?

The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), sometimes called the Inactive Ready Reserve, is composed of former military personnel who still have time remaining on their enlistment agreements but have returned to civilian life. They are eligible to be called up in "states of emergency".

The IRR is an inactive (as most Vets remember it back in the day STANDBY Reserve as opposed to Ready Reserve) group of service members who still have time remaining on their signing agreements and are eligible to call up during local state or national “states of emergency.” The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) defined a National State of Emergency as American citizens being in a war for survival of our nation.

For most veterans, having to deal with hearing loss and tinnitus is quite common. Nearly 933,000 veterans were being compensated for hearing loss and almost 1.3 million veterans were compensated for tinnitus.  A veteran with either of these two conditions may be wondering what is needed to establish service connection for hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

#SE1E18 Hearing Loss And Tinnitus (part 1)